Circle of Friends

In the small Irish town of Knockglen, best friends Bernadette ('Benny') and Eve are inseparable. Benny is an adored only child, and Eve, a poor, birdlike orphan brought up by nuns. On their first day at University College, Dublin, a fatal road accident brings the pair together with fellow students Nan Mahon and Jack Foley, and new friendships are quickly struck. Jack and Nan introduce Eve and Benny to a life of excitement and sophistication.

Tara Road

Ria and Marilyn have never met - they live thousands of miles apart, separated by the Atlantic Ocean: one in a big, warm, Victorian house in Tara Road, Dublin, the other in a modern, open-plan house in New England. Two more unlikely friends would be hard to find: Ria's life revolves around her family and friends while Marilyn's reserve is born of grief. But when each needs a place to escape to, a house exchange seems the ideal solution.

Quentins

Every table at Quentins Restaurant has a thousand stories to tell: tales of love, betrayal and revenge. Ella Brady wants to make a documentary about the renowned Dublin restaurant that has captured the spirit of a generation and a city in the years it has been open. In Maeve Binchy's magical Quentins you will meet new friends and old: the twins from Scarlet Feather, the Signora from Evening Class, Ria from Tara Road, and a host of fresh faces.

Echoes

This is the story of two very different children growing up in a small Irish seaside town in the 50s and 60s. Shouting their hearts' desires into the echo cave, praying that their destiny will lead them far away from the town in which they live. Castlebay, in winter empty and grey with wind and sea spray, becomes all bustle and colour in the gaudy days of summer. The paths of these two characters are destined to criss-cross in a quite unforeseen way, and eventually both roads will lead back to Castlebay.

Light a Penny Candle

As a child, Elizabeth was sent from her war-torn, rather loveless home in London to stay with a big, boisterous family in a small town in Ireland. There she meets Aisling, and begins what becomes a long-lasting friendship. Over the next 20 years, Aisling and Elizabeth's paths will cross and re-cross. As they face their loves, their marriages, and their disappointments, they realise that not all problems will be solved, nor all wishes granted by lighting a penny candle.

Scarlet Feather

Cathy Scarlet and Tom Feather have decided to create the best catering company in Dublin. They have the perfect premises, heaps of talent, and even a few contacts - but not everyone seems as pleased by the idea of Scarlet Feather as they are. Tom's parents are disappointed that he has turned his back on the family business. Cathy's husband buries himself in work, becoming ever more distant, whilst his mother thinks Cathy should stay at home to look after him.

Heart and Soul

Clara Casey has more than enough on her plate. Her daughters are a handful and Clara, a senior cardiac specialist, has a new job to cope with.... For Ania, meeting Clara Casey is a miracle: she had never intended to leave her beloved Poland, but after the love of her life has turned sour, her world seems rather empty. Perhaps a new job in a new country will mend her broken heart?

A Few of the Girls

Maeve Binchy's best-selling novels not only tell wonderful stories, they also give an insight into how Ireland has changed over the decades but how people remain the same: they still fall in love, sometimes unsuitably; they still have hopes and dreams; they have deep, long-standing friendships, and some that fall apart. From her earliest writing to her most recent, Maeve's work has included wonderfully nostalgic pieces and also sharp, often witty writing which is insightful and topical.

Evening Class

The Italian evening class at Mountainview School is like hundreds of others starting up all over the city. But this class has its own special quality - as the focus for the varied hopes and dreams of teacher and pupils alike. Aidan Dunne needs his new evening class project to succeed almost as much as his pupils do. They too are looking for something more: Bill to find a way to keep spendthrift Lizzie at his side and Fran to make sure that young Kathy finds her way out from behind the kitchen sink.

Firefly Summer

Firefly Summer is warm, humorous, sad and happy. Reading it is a joy' Irish Independent In the summer of 1962, an American millionaire arrives in a small, sleepy Irish town with far-reaching consequences. For the children of the Ryan family, the long hot summers are usually spent playing in the ruins of a large, abandoned house.

A Week in Winter

The Sheedy sisters had lived in Stone House for as long as anyone could remember. Set high on the cliffs on the west coast of Ireland, overlooking the windswept Atlantic ocean, it was falling into disrepair - until one woman, with a past she needed to forget, breathed new life into the place. Now a hotel, with a big, warm kitchen and log fires, it provides a welcome few can resist. Winnie is generally able to make the best of things until she finds herself on the holiday from hell.

Silver Wedding

A silver wedding means a family gathering - difficult occasions at the best of times. But for the Doyles - Deidre, Desmond and their children Anna, Helen and Brendan - it will be more difficult than most. For each of them is keeping up a front; each of them is nursing a secret wound, or smarting over a hidden betrayal. As the day draws nearer, so the tension mounts, until finally the guests gather at the silver wedding party itself...

Chestnut Street

Just round the corner from St Jarlath's Crescent (featured in Minding Frankie) is Chestnut Street. Here, the lives of the residents are revealed in Maeve Binchy's wonderfully compelling tales: Bucket Maguire, the window cleaner, who must do more than he bargained for to protect his son. Nessa Byrne, who's aunt comes to visit from America for six weeks every summer and turns the house - and Nessa's world - upside down. Lilian, the generous girl with a big heart, and the fiancé not everyone approves of.

Minding Frankie

Baby Frankie is born into an unusual family. Her mother is desperate to find someone to take care of her child, and she doesn't have much time. Noel doesn't seem to be the most promising of fathers, but despite everything he could well be Frankie's best hope. As for Lisa, she is prepared to give up everything for the man she loves; surely he's going to love her back. And Moira is having none of it. She knows what's right and has the power to change the course of Frankie's life.

Whitethorn Woods

The town of Rossmore is a special place, full of character and charm. Nestled beside the Whitethorn Woods, the town has grown since the days when it was small and friendly and everyone knew everyone else. But it still has the woods, with the well dedicated to St Ann, where generations have come to pray or make wishes or just to look back at the pretty little town. Which is why there is going to be such a fuss about the plans for the new road cutting through Whitethorn Woods.

The Lilac Bus

Every Friday night the same seven Dublin workers meet to travel home in Tom Fitzgerald's lilac-coloured minibus. Each of them needs to return regularly to Rathdoon: Nancy Morris, a real 'Miss Mouse', is known for her meanness and has to escape her flatmate's carping; Dee Burke is engrossed in her affair; Kev Kennedy has a side to his character hidden even from his family; Celis Ryan has to face her mother making a drunken exhibition of herself - and Tom has his reasons.

Dublin 4

A society hostess entertains her husband's mistress to dinner; a country girl savours the delights of city life; a student faces the dilemma of unmarried pregnancy; and a drink-ridden photographer tries to relaunch his shattered career.A vintage collection of four stories set in the heart of Dublin's fashionable Southside, DUBLIN 4 has all of the author's intimate grasp of human feelings, and her marvellous ear for dialogue.

Nights of Rain and Stars

In a Greek taverna, high over the small village of Aghia Anna, four people meet for the first time: Fiona, an Irish nurse, Thomas, a Californian academic; Elsa, a German television presenter; and David a shy English boy. Along with Andreas, the old man who runs the taverna, they become close to each other after witnessing a tragedy when a pleasure steamer catches fire in the harbour.

Caroline's Sister

To her younger sister, Tessa, Caroline O'Shaughnessy has everything - great looks, easy charm, and the distinctly desirable Damien Woods. But for Caroline, things don't feel quite so rosy. She'd dreamed about moving in with Damien but not about having his child just yet. And though he did the honourable thing when she told him she was pregnant, it obviously wasn't what he wanted either.

The Missing Wife

Fans of Marian Keyes, Lisa Jewell and Santa Montefiore will love Sunday Times best-selling author Sheila O'Flanagan's The Missing Wife. Have you ever wanted to disappear? When Imogen Naughton vanishes, everyone who knows her is shocked. She has a perfect marriage. Her handsome husband treats her like a princess. She's always said how lucky she is. So why has she left? And how will she survive without Vince?

Full House

Dee loves her children very much, but now they are all grown up, shouldn't they leave home? Rosie moved out when she got married, but it didn't work out, so now she is back with her parents. Helen is a teacher, and doesn't earn enough for a place of her own. Anthony writes songs, and is just waiting for the day when someone will pay him for them. Until then, all three are happy at home. It doesn't cost them anything, and surely their parents like having a full house?

Maeve's Times

As someone who fell off a chair not long ago trying to hear they what they were saying at the next table in a restaurant, I suppose I am obsessively interested in what some might consider the trivia of other people's lives'. Maeve Binchy is well known for her best-selling novels, the most recent of which was A Week in Winter. But for many years Maeve was a journalist, writing for The Irish Times.

London Transports

A delectable collection of 22 short stories centred around people travelling on the London Underground. We meet a young couple travelling nervously to Seven Sisters for their first wife-swapping party; there's Annie's Pimlico Hotel, which is only open for specially-chosen guests; Rita, the mysterious temp, who lives in Notting Hill Gate; and Sophie, who runs a handbag shop at Marble Arch. All the stories have in common Maeve Binchy's delicious humour and warmth.

Far from Over

Gemma Garvey's marriage has been over for ages. And it was Gemma's choice to end it; her decision to go it alone with two kids, rather than pretend the marriage to career-obsessed David was working. So why is she so upset when he marries that flame-haired bimbo, Orla O'Neill? Is it that Orla's nearer in age to Gemma's teenage daughter than to herself? But for Orla, being wife number two isn't all she'd imagined. And the trouble has only just begun.

Publisher's Summary

Carved in the trunk of the mighty copper beech tree that embraces the schoolyard in Shancarrig are declarations of love, hope, and identity - the youthful dreams of the children who studied there. Now grown, yet shaped by their years in the schoolhouse, they lead different lives. The Copper Beech is about 8 of these dreamers.

From Ryan's Hotel to Barna Woods, where the gypsies came each year, from Nellie Dunn's sweet shop to Father Gunn's church, the tenor of life in Shancarrig is outwardly placid and uneventful. Some, like Nessa Ryan, in search of passion, would say deadly dull. But behind the calm exterior, serenity fades into unexpected drama: Maddy Ross has a secret love; Eddie Barton, a surprising friendship; the Darcy's, the glamorous newcomers, find a curious partner in poor Maura Brennan. The Dunnes, Kelly's, Leo Murphy, and Dr. Jim's all have their own extraordinary stories to tell...brought to life by Maeve Binchy's sure touch.

What did you like best about The Copper Beech? What did you like least?

UNDERSTANDING

Has The Copper Beech turned you off from other books in this genre?

NO

What didn’t you like about Fionnula Flanagan’s performance?

SHE WAS GOOD

Do you think The Copper Beech needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

YES I DO, IT ENDED QUICKLY

Any additional comments?

I DID NOT CARE FOR THE BOOK AT ALL

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Ci A. Hawkins

Missouri, USA

22/06/16

Overall

Performance

Story

"TOO MUCH"

What could have made this a 4 or 5-star listening experience for you?

Narrator speaks with such a heavy brog, I couldn't not understand her.

Would you ever listen to anything by Maeve Binchy again?

NO!

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Copper Beech?

The narrator made it too hard to follow the story line.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

Purple

clovis, CA

22/07/13

Overall

Performance

Story

"Gotta Love Maeve Binchy"

I am still getting over the fact that we are never going to have a new Maeve Binchy book. I just love her writing. It's storytelling that's seems a bit old-fashioned at first, but yet draws you in. While the books that are set in Dublin are more contemporary than this one, I still like this one too. It's just too bad this one is abridged. I actually listened to the unabridged version several years ago and it was a great listen. Go for the whole book is my advice.

0 of 0 people found this review helpful

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